Introduction
Examinations are an essential form of assessment utilized in monitoring a student’s progress. The feedback generated from these evaluations give the teachers, guardians and any other concerned party an overview of the student’s progress in the academic field. Proper interventions are made as per the grades scored by individual students. With this in mind, it is imperative to acknowledge the fact that grades are an influential aspect of the learning process as they give an overview of the student’s academic progress. However, they do not measure the overall student’s intelligence. As such, assumptions should not be made on the feedback generated from grades to evaluate an individual’s intelligence. According to Gralewski and Maciej (202), subject grades give a reflection of a student’s understanding of a subject or topic and not their overall intellectual capacities. This paper evaluates the relationship between grades and intelligence to determine whether the former can be used to measure one’s mental capacity. For a fact, grades are a mere reflection of a student’s internalization of concepts taught in a classroom and can, therefore, not be used to quantify one’s intelligence.
My stance and arguments
I believe that grades cannot be utilized in the evaluation of one’s intelligence. Specifically, this form of assessment is erroneous as it does not give an accurate representation of one’s intellectual capacity. According to Zuffianò et al. (159), passion plays a great role in the distribution of grades as opposed to intelligence. Precisely, students with high preferences in a subject are more likely to perform better than those who do not accord the discipline similar attention. With this in mind, one can determine that the overall grade distribution is primarily centered on a student’s preferences and overall comprehension of a topic. Consequently, utilizing the feedback generated by one's grades in the evaluation of intelligence is a flawed methodology.
Most questions are given in examinations greatly depend on memory and recall ability. According to the European Journal of Personality, many examinations require constant studying of topics to enhance mastery of the content (Kriegbaum and Birgit 58). In most cases, students resolve to the easier methods of scoring higher in the examinations by memorizing the materials to be tested a few moments before the test. Scoring higher grades after engaging in this form of academic practice does not imply that one is intelligent by the level of grades scored. More intelligent individuals with poor memories and recall abilities suffer the inconveniences of scoring poorly and being deemed unintelligent. As such, grades cannot and should not be used in quantifying a student’s intelligence.
Emotions greatly affect the overall distribution of grades. Edwards (148) argues that the outcome of an examination greatly depends on the student’s form factor during the test period. Specifically, one’s ability to concentrate, apply the concepts learned and recall the materials in the memory can be negatively affected when one experiences an emotional breakdown. Therefore, intelligent individuals may not record pleasant grades after taking a test because of emotions during the examination. Additionally, the emotions experienced during the study period can lead to the development of inadequacies while answering assessment prompts. Consequently, a student’s intelligence cannot be quantified accurately through the utilization of their grades since emotions affect the overall performance.
Different response structuring due to creativity might lead to lower grades in the examinations. According to Zuffianò et al. (160), the marking of examinations utilizes a rather direct approach to evaluating the accuracy of an answer. In some cases, intelligent students who restructure their responses in the way they understood the topic end up failing the tests due to the differences in response presentation. Consequently, the mediocre grades posted in an examination do not give an accurate feedback of the student’s intellectual capacity. As such, this approach should not be used in quantifying a student’s intelligence since it does not give a provision for the assessment of creativity.
The global history has encountered many intelligent individuals who scored low grades in school in spite of their exemplary levels of intelligence. According to Edwards (152), Einstein had mediocre grades in his early life, and his teacher thought he was lesser intelligent than other students. However, his lack of interest in the topics taught within the class environment made a great contribution to his poor performance. In the end, he advanced his research and became one of the most intelligent individuals the world has ever seen. Consequently, judging someone’s intelligence based on their grades and academic performance is flawed and should not be used in the quantification of intellectual abilities.
Opposing stance and arguments
However, it is imperative to note that the grading system gives a constructive feedback on the student’s intelligence. According to Gralewski and Maciej (206), consistent scoring of low grades gives an accurate representation of a student’s inadequacies in terms of intelligence. As such, one’s intelligence can be measured through a general evaluation of his grades distribution. Having a consistency in high grades implies that one is intelligent while the converse reveals higher levels of unintelligence. Consequently, grades can be used to measure one’s intelligence.
Greater interest in a subject does not guarantee success in the discipline. According to Şenyuva et al. (595), student’ with high intellectual capacities have a greater chance of scoring better in a test. Being interested in a topic augments the chances of an individual performing better but does not eliminate the impact of intelligence on the grades distribution. As such, higher performance in an examination gives feedback of the students’ intelligence and not their interests in the subject. Consequently, grades can be used to quantify one’s level of intelligence.
Counterclaims and Rebuttal
In spite of the constructive feedback generated by the grading systems at academic institutions, it is worth mentioning that the level of evaluation is rather limited to a few aspects. Specifically, the tests are based on a topic in a particular subject, which makes them rather specific. However, European Journal of Personality defines intelligence as the comprehensive ability to apply knowledge and apply the skills learned from a scenario (Kriegbaum and Birgit 63). In this case, the acquisition of knowledge and skill application is rather limited to one section. Therefore, the grading systems cannot be used to quantify a student’s intelligence.
A combination of intelligence and interests greatly enhances the level of grades scored in a particular subject. Eliminating the relevance of a students’ interest in the grading system and focusing the outcome on the level of intelligence is erroneous. According to Edwards (120), students with greater interests in a topic have a higher likelihood of scoring better in the subjects as opposed to the individuals with minimal interests. As such, an individuals’ curiosity greatly augments their chances of better performance in a topic. Consequently, grades cannot be used to determine a student’s level of intelligence since other factors such as curiosity determine the outcome of a learner’s grade distribution.
The grading system does not give an accurate overview of a student’s intelligence as it does not capture all the aspects of intelligence. Owing to the fact that tests are based on recall ability and the overall comprehension of a topic, the application methods cannot be quantified through the nature of responses given in a test. As such, one’s creativity and application skill techniques are not assessed in a test. Consequently, the grade cannot and should not be used in the evaluation of one’s intelligence. This situation is largely attributed to the fact that the marking of an examination is based on a specified response criteria that need to be met before the awarding of points. The utilization of grading distribution in the awarding of intelligence points is bound to be inaccurate.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the grading system utilized in academic institutions is an influential method for quantifying an individual’s performance. However, this method of assessment has many inadequacies in the quantification of one’s level of intelligence. For starters, the parameters tested in an examination are rather limited to a subject and a topic. This situation makes it challenging for the examiner to understand a student’s creativity and application skill techniques. Additionally, the fact that emotions and other environmental factors define how a student responds to the tests issued can influence the outcome of the grades positively and negatively. The nature of the scores would be inefficient in explaining the student’s intelligence levels. As such, grades cannot and should not be used in measuring a student’s intelligence levels due to the rather minimal evaluation parameters.
Works Cited
Edwards, Diana Nicole. Are My Grades a Reflection of Me? Black College Students' Attributions and Interpretations of Grades Received in the Classroom. Diss. HOWARD UNIVERSITY, 2013. Print.
Gralewski, Jacek, and Maciej Karwowski. "Creativity and school grades: A case from Poland." Thinking Skills and Creativity 7.3 (2012): 198-208. Print.
Kriegbaum, Katharina, and Birgit Spinath. "Explaining Social Disparities in Mathematical Achievement: The Role of Motivation." European Journal of Personality 30.1 (2016): 45-63. Print.
Şenyuva, Emine, et al. "Relationship between self‐compassion and emotional intelligence in nursing students." International journal of nursing practice 20.6 (2014): 588-596.
Zuffianò, Antonio, et al. "Academic achievement: The unique contribution of self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulated learning beyond intelligence, personality traits, and self-esteem." Learning and individual differences 23 (2013): 158-162.
